SACRAMENTO COUNTY TEMPORARILY BANS MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOPS

Sacramento County officials on Tuesday agreed to a 30-day ban on
medical marijuana shops to give themselves a month to decide how to
regulate sales of the drug.

Following the lead of other local governments, the Board of
Supervisors agreed to the ban on medicinal cannabis dispensaries in
order to devise a plan to keep neighborhoods, store owners and
residents safe, officials said.

A new state law allows primary care physicians to administer marijuana
to patients with a doctor's prescription, but local governments across
the region have found themselves largely unprepared to handle the
growing number of requests to open cannabis dispensaries.

That's because most local zoning codes do not yet have a category for
medical marijuana dispensaries.

Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Roseville and Auburn have passed
moratoriums similar to Sacramento County's, and other cities are still
considering their next move. Rocklin banned marijuana sales outright.

Advocates of medical marijuana said dispensaries are no different than
pharmacies and should be regulated as such.